Shoe attachment



c. A. CAVEY ET AL. 2,191,442

SHOE ATTACHMENT Feb. 27, 1940.

Filed May 6, 1939 Qrwenvbou 62/44/05 A. CAVE-v, HELEN M. COP/N,

' AURORA WEI 41., HELEN C. HUNT,

Patented F eb. 27, 1940 UNITED STATES} PATENT oFFicE;

SHOE ATTACHMENT Claude A. Garey, Helen M. Gopin, Aurora. V.

Hill, and Helen 0. Hunt, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application May 6, 1939, Serial No. 272,228

11 Claim. (01. 36-75) This invention relates generally to shoes and particularly to attachments for shoes.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide an inexpensive article for attachment to any ordinary shoe in order to provide a cushioned member between the shoe and a walking surface.

The shoe attachment is particularly designed to make walking easy and less tiring for people who are wearing shoes which are not particularly adapted for extensive walking and in nection the article is suitable for use by this conpeople atwearing comfortable shoes for the occasion.

'a shoe attachment which is a distinct the time.

It is also an object of this invention to provide foot aid to deaden or quiet the sound of footsteps at places where noise cannot be tolerated, such as in broadcasting studios, motion picture sound stages and hospitals.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide a shoe attachment which has a thick resilient cushion adapted to be positioned under the sole of a shoe and which is provided with a light weight upper extending upwardly from the thick sole and adapted to receive the forward portion of a shoe.

It is also a particular object of this invention to provide-a shoe attachment of the type inserves as a heat insulator between a shoe and a walking surface and thereby makes walking over hot surfaces much more comfortable than it It is also an object of this otherwise would be. invention to provide an article of the cated which will protect the sole of a type indishoe from wear and abrasion caused by walking over uneven and rough surfaces.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawing and the following description. Re-

ferring to the drawing, which is for illustrative purposes only;

Fig. l is a side elevation of the article of this invention shown with relation to a womans shoe; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on line 2-2 of I Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section on of Fig. 1.

line 3-3 More particularly describing the invention, the shoe attachment has been indicated by reference numeral II and is shown in connection with a womans shoe generally indicatedby reference numeral I2. While the article of this invention 5 has been shown in connection with a womans shoe, it is contemplated that the article may be shaped so as to fit mens shoes and childrens shoes and is not necessarily limited to application to womens shoes.

The shoe attachment comprises a relatively thick resilient sole member I3 which preferably formed of a resilient sponge-like rubber althoughother resilient material might be used in place thereof. It has been found that a water- 15 cured aerated latex sold under the name of Airfoam is particularly suitable for this purpose in that it is resistant to wear, is effective as heat insulation for the purposes desired, is resilient, and extremely light in weight. The sole mem- 2o ber is shaped to approximately correspond to the shape of the portion of the sole of the shoe which engages a walking surface during use. The front and rear edges of the member I3 are bevelled or chamfered to a thin edge as indicated at l4 and 25 I5 respectively.

Extending around the two side edges of the sole member I3 and around the front edge thereof is what will be termed an upper which has been generally indicated by reference numeral I6. 30 This upper may be formed of any suitable material, however, in'order to provide an article of light weight and one which will be cool for the wearer, the upper has been shown as comprising a mesh or net material. The upper is attached 35 at its lower margin by means of a strip of material or tape I1 which extends over the lower margin of the upper and around the two side edges and front edge of the sole member I3. Any suitable bonding material, such as rubber cement 40 or the like, may be used between the tape I1 and the sole I3 in order to secure the upper to the sole. It is to be understood that some other means may be used for attaching the upper to the sole.

The upper when in position on a shoe I2 extends upwardly from the sole member I3 to engage the sides I2 of theshoe and to extend over the toe portion of the shoe. Thus, the sole member I3 and upper I6 cooperate to receive the forward portion of a shoe. The upper margin of the upper I6 is provided with a hollow or tubular tape I8 which forms a border for the upper, the tape being folded back upon itself and stitched at I9. A draw string '20 is provided which extends through the tape l1 and is adapted to be extended rearwardly thereof a sufiicient distance so that it may be secured around the heel of a shoe.

While the shoe attachment of this invention has been shown with a draw string 20 and a hollow tape 18, it is within the scope of this invention to provide some other border means for the upper l5 and to provide a suitable member extending rearwardly thereof for attachment around the heel of a shoe such as a resilient band or the like.

Although the invention has been particularly shown and described, it is contemplated that certain changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and it is intended to cover such changes as come within the scope of the claim.

We claim as our invention:

A shoe attachment comprising a relatively thick resilient sole member having bevelled front and rear edges formed of a sponge-like rubber material, said sole member being shaped to approximately' correspond to the shape of the portion of the sole of a shoe which engages a surface during use, an upper of flexible net material extending upwardly from the front and side edges 5 of said sole member and forming a toe portion and side portions, the lower margin of said upper being positioned about the front and side edges of said sole member, a tape extending around the front and side edges of said sole member over 10 said lower margin of said upper, a bonding material between said tape and said sole member and between the meshes of the lower margin of said upper for securing said upper to said sole memher, a hollow tape secured to the upper edge of 15 

